Star of Thames Jubilee Pageant stuck in Suez Canal

A Chinese junk travelling all the way to Britain from Hong Kong to take part
in this Sunday’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames will miss the event
after it got held up in the Suez Canal, it has emerged.

The Prince of Wales is shown a model of the carvings on Spirit of Chartwell

The organisers of the 1,000-boat flotilla had billed the Huan Tian as one of the highlights of the event, as it will be the first authentic junk to appear on the Thames since the Great Exhibition of 1851.

But in the middle of its epic voyage from China, it had to wait a week to pass through the Suez Canal because of what the event’s organisers described as a “major traffic jam”.

The junk left Hong Kong on April 28 and had been due to arrive in London this week after a month-long journey.

But having cleared the Suez Canal only days ago, it is still in the Mediterranean and cannot make up time because the transport ship carrying it across the oceans only has a top speed of 18 knots.

Michael Lockett, chief executive of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, said the junk was one of several boats that were not expected to make it in time, adding that the Huan Tian’s difficulties typified the monumental efforts being made by some of the participants to get to London from all over the world.

The junk, which will now be on the Thames during the Olympics, would have been one of 105 vessels moored on either side of Tower Bridge as part of the Avenue of Sail, comprising vessels too big to fit under the 13 bridges on the Pageant route.

Yesterday the Prince of Wales visited the static flotilla and boarded the royal barge Spirit of Chartwell, on which he will accompany the Queen on her journey down the Thames on Sunday.

The Prince met craftsmen who have helped transform the passenger cruiser into a regal flagship, including Alan Lamb, who said he had barely seen his wife since he started working on a gilded sculpture for its prow on Christmas Day.

The Prince also visited the Belem, a three-masted barque from France, where the French ambassador Bernard Emie presented him with a gold commemorative medal for the Queen, adding that the French were “fascinated” by the Royal family.

Meanwhile forecasters have warned that the River Pageant could be hit by rain.

Met Office forecaster Ruth Steele said the outlook for London was “much cooler than we have experienced over the past couple of weeks and the rain is going to be pretty unpleasant”.